Jump Start # 3044

John 14:2 “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.”

Years ago there was a sermon that was preached regularly called “Knots in the Devil’s tail.” I don’t know who was the first to come up with that, but it seemed in that generation nearly every preacher used it. For this Jump Start, we are going to look at Five “Not’s” of Heaven.

We love sermons about Heaven. We have so many wonderful hymns about Heaven. Thoughts of Heaven gets us through those tough days in life. Won’t it be wonderful there, is more than a hymn and a suggestion. It’s a truth. And, one of the reasons it is wonderful is because of these “Five Not’s.” Our secular times are changing the concept of Heaven for so many. Listen to the way some preach funerals. God has been evicted and we’ve filled His house will all kinds of physical and foolish things. We need to get back to the way the Bible describes Heaven. It’s God’s house, not ours. Let God tell us what it is like.

First, Heaven is not like earth. We have fluctuating temperatures, attitudes and troubles. Wars. Diseases. Crime. Sin. Death. Sadness. Grief. Heartache. Pain. Those are the things here. Pretty sunsets, beautiful waterfalls, magnificent mountains, cannot conceal the inner turmoil that is found here. This world is broken. Promises are not kept. People hurt one another. Sin plagues us. Heaven isn’t like this. Heaven isn’t physical. God is a spirit and Heaven is a spiritual dimension. So forget the roller coasters, chocolate fountains, flying kites, playing with puppies, fishing, golfing—those all belong here. Those things are part of this world. Heaven is not like earth.

Second, Heaven is not governed by time. There won’t be a need for clocks, calendars and watches in Heaven. That means we won’t age. Time is meaningless to God. Peter’s words that a thousand years is like one day and one day like a thousand years is beyond our concept. You and I always have to be somewhere. After work, we have somewhere to go, usually home. After the movie ends, we have to go somewhere. After the last amen in worship, we have somewhere to go. We always have somewhere to go. But not in Heaven. There’ s no other place to go.

Third, Heaven is not breeched by the temptations of Satan. Satan won’t make it to Heaven. Revelation promises that the destination of Satan is the second death. Without the tempter, we won’t be tempted. You won’t mess up and do something wrong in Heaven. Our freewill changes to one glorious heart that wants to honor the Lord. Here, we fight Satan all the time. Everywhere we go, he’s somewhere lurking in the background. The day is coming, when we won’t have to deal with Satan ever again.

Fourth, Heaven isn’t different for each person. For the golfer, Heaven is a golf course. For the fisherman, Heaven is sitting on the river banks with Peter with a pole in the water. Sounds wonderful, but one doesn’t get such fanciful ideas from the Bible. The images given to us in Revelation, shows the multitudes surrounding the throne. We are not all out doing our own thing. That’s self centered and selfish. That’s not Heaven.

Fifth, Heaven isn’t promised to those who live in rebellion to the Lord. Our times would find these words, harsh, judgmental, unkind and surely not true. The world believes every grandma deserves to go to Heaven. Every soldier who dies in service, is thought to have a sure ticket to Heaven. Every cop, every fireman, who dies helping others, ought to be in Heaven. That’s the way our world sees it. No thought about Jesus and His word. A person may not worship God at all, however if he falls under the “good” column in people’s minds, that’s all that matters. He’s a good person, therefore he is certain to be in Heaven. One wonders, if that be the case, why then did Jesus come to earth? Why was the Lord sacrificed and resurrected? If all I need to do is make some cookies for the neighbors, smile in public, give a tip now and then, and I’m guaranteed to make it to Heaven, then I don’t need to follow Jesus. That’s how secular the world has become. God has been squeezed out of Heaven and Jesus has been put up on a shelf on earth. Don’t need either, because Heaven is all about us, at least that’s how a lot of folks want it to be.

Heaven is God’s home. If you came to my home, especially my office, you’d see what is important to me. I have family pictures all around. I have my autographed baseballs on a shelf. I have a collection of books that I like. I have my music. My office is decorated to my tastes. It reflects me. Heaven, God’s home, will reflect Him. Holy. Perfect. Divine. Spiritual. Godly. Those are the qualities we’d see in God. These are the things we’d see in God’s house, Heaven.

Knots in the Devil’s tail…maybe it’s time to preach those old sermons again.

Roger

Jump Start # 1213

John 14:2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.”

Our passage begins a long section of dialogue between Jesus and his disciples. The end was near and He understood that. They didn’t. There were many things to talk about. Our verse today reveals that Jesus was going away and in the next verse, He tells them that He will come again to take them where He is.

A few thoughts here:

First, in some of the older translations, the expression “many mansions” is used. It took me a while to get that ironed out in my thinking. The idea from many mansions is that we will each have our own “estate.” I’ll have my mansion behind a tall iron gate, you’ll have yours, behind another iron gate and we will line the streets of Heaven with mansion after mansion. When my wife and I were first married, we were so poor, but we’d dream. We’d dream of that mansion in Heaven. In fact, we even drove around the wealthy estates in Indianapolis, I’d say, “my mansion will be like that one.” A little later, she’d find one she’d like and proclaim, “My mansion will be like that.” It was a lot of fun and dreaming for us back then. Later I learned that the passage and the principles of Heaven do not allow separation. I won’t be behind my gate and you won’t be behind your gate, rather, we’ll be together. Fellowship demands togetherness. We’ll be around the throne of God, together. A better reading of that passage is, “In my Father’s house are many rooms…” We are in one room now. When we die, we simply leave one room and go into another room. We are still in the same house. Folks in one room can’t see those in the other room, but we are all still in the same house. I like that idea. I like to think that dear brethren are simply in the other room. Remaining in the same house, God’s house, brings thoughts of love, acceptance and fellowship.

Second, this passage shows us that Jesus doesn’t keep secrets. We do. He doesn’t. If it were not so, our passage says, “I would have told you.” In essence, I don’t tell you things that are not so. I do not make things up. I do not stretch nor exaggerate things. I do not keep secrets. If it wasn’t that way, I would tell you. Jesus told us all things. We don’t do that. We hide behind nice masks and pretend all things are well, when they are not. We tell people what we think they want to hear. We tell them things so that they will like us. One of the worst is lying in church. A guy sleeps through a sermon and then tells the preacher at the door, “Great sermon.” Really? One of these days I just may ask a guy who does that, which point he liked the best. Jesus told us all things. There are no surprises. We know what we must do to please God. We know. We know what we must do to go to Heaven. We know. He’s told us. We know what’s coming. We know what will happen to the earth. We know what will happen to us. We have been told all things. There is no need to speculate, guess or walk in darkness. What a blessing this is. What a benefit this is. God shares. God tells.

Thirdly, Jesus was leaving to prepare a place. That phrase also was fuzzy in my mind. I saw Jesus making beds, sweeping floors, dusting– doing all the things we do before company comes. We get things ready. When the family comes for the holidays, our house is prepared. We’ve stocked up on food, we’ve polished the place and we are ready for them to show up. Some how I saw Jesus doing that. It’s a nice idea, but it doesn’t fit with the concept of Heaven. Where Jesus was going was Heaven, but immediately, it was Jerusalem. Specifically it was to the Cross. That’s the preparation that had to be done. We can’t go to His place until there is a way to get there. We sing, “The way of the cross leads home…” That’s it. That’s it, exactly. Jesus had to go to the cross so we could be with Him. Without the cross, we aren’t invited. Without the cross, our sins get in the way. Without the cross, there is no Heaven, not for us. Where Jesus went, wasn’t to dust Heaven, He went to die on the cross.

That was the preparation. It had been prophesied for centuries. It was the hope of  Heaven. Now it was time. Jesus was going to the cross so you and I could be with Him. It was a heavy price that He paid. It shows how much we really wants us there. It shows that there is nothing that He wouldn’t do to help us get there.

God really loves you. God thinks about you all the time. One author wrote, if there was a refrigerator in Heaven, and I doubt there is, God would have your picture right there on it. It’s amazing how busy I can get doing nothing important, and not think about God, yet there is hardly a moment, if ever, that He isn’t thinking about me.

Jesus was opening the door to Heaven for us. He was making preparations. This tells us that we also need to be making preparations. We need to get ourselves ready. We need to be thinking more of the eternal than the present. We need to make choices that have an eye on Heaven. We need to be more spiritual in our hearts and in our attitudes. God must be first in all things.

Someday, we are through with this place. Someday, we will be in the eternal. Everything will be different. Jesus has done His part. God is busy doing His part. The Holy Spirit is doing His part. Now, are you doing your part? God won’t take you to Heaven without some effort on your part. It starts with opening that Bible and reading about the Lord who loves you and has told you all things. It begins with faith. It doesn’t end with faith. No, a changed life, a living hope, having an eye on Heaven, living righteously—those are on our end of things. That’s what we must do.

We are one day closer to Heaven. Aren’t you glad!

Roger